With proliferation of the use of contact based payment devices such as ATM cards and debit cards, and newer electronic contactless payment devices such as mobile devices equipped with mobile payment technology, there is a growing security concern about theft of personal and confidential data such as a personal identification number (PIN).
Shoulder surfing performed to observe finger movements of unsuspecting consumers has become a common occurrence at public places of processing business transactions, e.g., at an automated teller machine (ATM), a vending machine, or a point-of-sale (POS) terminal. Professional criminals, thieves, and hackers may easily guess a typical 4-digit PIN number used for a transaction by simply observing finger positions and movements made by a user to enter PIN data. In situations where shoulder surfing may not be practical, surveillance may be performed remotely. These professionals may set up electronic surveillance equipment such as cameras with powerful zoom lenses that may be located far away from the ATM or POS terminal to record finger positions and capture PIN data without the knowledge of the user.